


Of Stakeouts and Marriage Proposals

by Goldy



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1825882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alien stakeouts and untimely proposals. Just another day in their life, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Stakeouts and Marriage Proposals

"Do you want to get married?”

It took Rose a few seconds to process the question, given that a moment before the Doctor had been bobbing his head and humming along to the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love” while Rose watched Sammy: An Alien Posing As A Senior Citizen make himself a ham sandwich and doze in front of the telly. It was all terribly boring and domestic, and Rose had been on the brink of providing backup vocals when he’d stopped and, in a sudden and serious voice said, “Do you want to get married?”

“What?” she finally managed, trying to ignore the way her mouth went dry and her knees clenched painfully together.

“Married,” the Doctor repeated, in a tone of voice that Rose usually associated with the Earth being on the brink of destruction.

She stared at him. “Do _you_ want to get married?”

An expression of utter bafflement crossed his face, like he couldn’t quite figure out why she’d asked him that. Then, his eyes lit up in triumph. “I asked you first,” he said, with a smug ‘ha!’ expression.

“Of all the times to bring this up…” Rose began and then she straightened. “Hold on, Sammy’s on the move again.”

The Doctor froze and then leaned over her shoulder, staring out the driver’s side window with her. They watched as Sammy pushed himself to his feet, grabbed his cane, and then slowly and ploddingly made his way over to the staircase.

Rose’s forehead thunked against the glass. So very boring. They really _were_ rubbish at stakeouts, the pair of them, and ended up snogging in the back seat of the car more often than not. Of course, they always did manage to catch the aliens in the end, which could be why Pete continued to send them out despite the thousands of Torchwood regulations they always broke.

“So,” the Doctor continued, head still hovering near her shoulder. “Getting married. What do you think?”

Rose sat up again, nearly crashing into the Doctor. He scrambled back out of the way, and glanced at the radio, looking like he might fiddle with the reception while he nervously waited for her to answer.

“Dunno,” she said honestly. “It’s a bit of a loaded question, isn’t it? I mean, we haven’t ever talked about it before. It never seemed like we needed it. I know you’re not going anywhere.”

The Doctor went very, very still, his fingers pausing on the radio’s dial. Rose felt a sudden stab of fear.

“Doctor?” she said, trying not to sound panicked. “You’re not going anywhere, yeah?”

It was a moment before he answered. “No,” he said softly. “Of course I’m not.”

She expelled a long breath of air. “Then what is it?”

He shifted uncomfortably, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck before he dropped it back down to his side. “Suppose that I….” He trailed off.

“Yeah?” Rose pressed.

“Suppose that I… suppose that the other me came back one day.” Rose glanced at him in surprise, her heart taking a furious jump at the mention of the other Doctor. “What would you do?”

He stared at her intently, his gaze dark and worried. She couldn't quite hide her confusion. They’d done this already—gone down the he’s-still-the-Doctor-but-different road. Though he'd never asked her a question like this before.

“Well,” Rose said slowly. “I reckon I’d say ‘hi.’ Ask him how he’s been. Maybe give him a hug.”

The Doctor nodded. “Right.” There was a pause and then, in a desperate voice, he said, “Would you go with him? If he asked?”

Rose said the first thing that popped into her head. “Would he ask?”

The Doctor stared at her blankly. “What?”

“Would he, though?” Rose said. “Doesn’t sound like you, especially if you’re out there thinking I’m safe and happy and—”

“That’s… that’s not the point,” the Doctor said, sounding pained. He leaned back in his seat, looking defeated. “Listen, it’s all right if you would. I understand.”

Rose stared at him, surprised that he still doubted her feelings for him. “No, I wouldn’t,” she said. “I still care about him, of course, and I hope he’s doing okay, but—”

The Doctor turned towards her, eyes eager and hopeful. “Yeah?”

“He hasn’t been the one here, these last few months. He didn’t take care of me when I got food poisoning from the chicken curry down the street or drive Mum to the emergency room after she slipped outside the mansion or pick Tony up from school or—” Rose’s voice caught and she couldn’t go on. She gave a small nod. “No, I wouldn’t go with him. I’d want to stay here. With you.”

The Doctor seemed speechless. “Oh,” he finally croaked. Then, “I don’t have the TARDIS, Rose. I can’t show you the universe. Not again.”

“I know that, you nutter,” she said. “I’m not saying I don’t miss it, but I crossed universes for _you_ , not your travelling machine.”

The Doctor managed a fond smile and Rose relaxed, settling back into her seat. She glanced at the house. There was a light on upstairs and she could just make out Sammy sitting on the edge of his bed.

“So,” the Doctor said after a pause. “Do you?”

“What?” Rose said, now fairly certain Sammy was clipping his toenails. She wrinkled her nose.

“Want to get married.”

Rose whipped her head back around. “Seriously? I thought you were just asking ‘cos you were—” Rose stopped, _insecure_ hovering on the tip of her tongue. She suspected the Doctor wouldn’t take too kindly to that. She switched gears. “Did Time Lords get married?”

He shrugged. “Most advanced lifeforms celebrate the bonding of a pair for life. It’s not about big weddings and fancy gifts—it’s about forming a partnership with someone, pledging your love to them. Marriage is just one word for it. ”

“Well, what was the Time Lord word for it?”

He looked uncomfortable. “Rose, Time Lord society was a bit repressed and oddly traditionalist, and I don’t think… that is, I think I’d prefer to do this the human way.”

“All right,” said Rose.

The Doctor blinked at her. “All right?”

“Yeah,” Rose said. “Let’s get married.”

“ _Really_?”

He looked so pleased that Rose couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and ruffling his hair. “Yeah.” She grinned. “I’d love to.”

He grinned back at her. She was considering dragging him into the backseat and kissing him senseless when he glanced at the house, and said, “Bugger.”

“What?” Rose said, cricking her neck around.

Sammy was no longer in his room. _Or_ in the rest of the house, if their sensors were any indication.

She glanced at the Doctor. “We really _are_ rubbish at this,” she said.

The Doctor frowned, but then perked up. “Ha! I’ve got a signal on the sonic screwdriver. We can track him. He couldn’t have gotten too far.”

Rose grabbed her Torchwood stun gun and opened the door. “Thank _god_. I hate waiting around.” The Doctor followed her out of the car and they grinned at each other. “Come on,” Rose said, holding out a hand. "This part I love."


End file.
